Oldun but a Goodun

My son bought this 1999 Mazda 323 as transport to get him to his work in a regional city where public transport is almost non-existent. Now that he’s moved to Brisbane, and cycles the 500 metres to his work, he no longer needs it.

Also, he got tired of charging the battery, and it was taking up precious garage space.

So my bride and I offered to garage it. It’s an agreeable little thing, and has an excellent sound system, with a six stacker CD player, aftermarket cruise control, and better air conditioning than in any of our other vehicles.

It’s also a lot easier to get in and out of than our over styled Ford Focus. We’re getting on, you know.

Anyway, my bride would much rather drive it than anything else we own, so it looks like the Focus is going on the market. We’ll buy the 323 from my son and pocket the difference.

It’s a Mazda, after all, with substantially the same mechanicals as the MX5, which is thoroughly reliable after 240000 kms, three times further than this one has travelled.

Mystery Solved

Brown stuff is glue, not rust.

Generally, my 18 year-old MX5 is reliable.

There have been exceptions.

 The fuel pump died in September last year, and on that occasion the car failed to proceed.

That happened at home, so I wasn't inconvenienced very much.

I was however inconvenienced when it refused to start about a month ago, after I'd left it for half an hour with the parking lights on.

The RACQ got me going, but given that the system (when the patrolman checked it) was good in terms of generating capacity, the reason for the tired battery was a mystery.

Since then, I've taken the precaution of charging it up every now and again, when I begin to suspect it's on the way out. You can always detect a slowing down of the cranking rate.

Last week I had occasion to remove the lining covering the interior of the boot.

I found something very surprising which explained the dozy battery.

Mounted on the driver's side rear of the boot wall was an object, complete with flashing red and blue lights, with a label affixed which read - "Auto Saver Systems".

It is supposed to protect against corrosion. Apparently it works, as there is no rust anywhere on the car. The brown colouration you can see on the pic is glue, not rust.

I've decided that I might as well leave it there.

I can monitor the battery state, and use my you-beaut auto charger to keep it reliable.

Charger - all new tech is tiny.

It was good to get to the bottom of the problem.

Staying Toasty

The cable is tucked away out of sight, and it's removable (velcro).

One of the issues that came with my MX5 was a non-functioning heater.

The previous owner explained that the condenser had developed a leak and fixing it would involve removing the dashboard. The cheapest quote was over $1000, so he decided he could do without the heater, and the hoses were looped to take it out of the cooling system.

In sunny Brisbane, where the car originated, the lack of a heater was not a problem, but it does occasionally get pretty chilly in Toowoomba. Also, I am inclined to head out for a recreational fang early in the morning when the frost is on the ground.

A solution lay in the purchase and installation of a cabin heater (see pic).

I decided to plumb it into the circuit for the rear window demister, which would remove the necessity to plug it into the cigarette lighter socket, already in use with the dashcam.

My friendly auto sparkie installed the plug for not much money, but I still think he’s a bit confused by the whole deal.

The plug.

It works a treat, although does make a soft whirring sound which annoys my bride somewhat.

In any case, it warms the cabin in a minute (literally) so the noise doesn’t last long.

You also don’t have to wait for the engine to warm up. The heater cost $30.

Korea Rulez

Rego was Victorian.

Over the years, I've driven a range of Korean cars.

They haven't always been wonderful as I recall from my fleet driving days, but the rapid improvement in quality, engineering and technology of vehicles from the land of the morning calm has been nothing short of amazing.

Last week, I hired a Hyundai 130 for a few (very hot) days whilst visiting Adelaide.

I was impressed.

Lots of grey plastic but soft touch.

This thing was well built, well equipped, and a hoot to drive. When I say a hoot to drive, I mean not in the happy tail wagging manner of my MX5, but as an engaging and refined means of urban transportation.

Don't get me wrong. It handled well, the steering was precise, the brakes efficient and it was very comfortable. It was certainly a machine you could happily live with.

Given the forty plus temperatures that Adelaide never fails to provide when I visit, the standard of A/C fitted became very relevant. Believe me, it worked fine.

The mirrors fold automatically.

There were a few surprises when it came to the kit. The mirrors spookily folded when you locked the car, and unfolded when you pressed the key to unlock it. This  reminded me of our Cardigan Corgi's ears. They also unfold when you approach him, but no key is necessary.

Plenty of storage.

The standard navigation worked fine once you got used to it, but it kept telling me (loudly) stuff I didn't really need to know. I didn't take the time to set it up properly, so maybe that can be eliminated. The bluetooth is simple and user friendly.

It was in the sevens....

It also returned pretty close to what was advertised on the fuel consumption sticker. This is, in my experience, comparatively rare.

I'd get hold of one of these things in a heartbeat.

The only real rival is the Kia Cerato with its seven year warranty. Both come from the same manufacturer.

Basic Camera

I've always used a dashcam on the MX5, for a variety of reasons, but notably after an encounter with a bogan suffering road rage.

Unfortunately, the more expensive units I've purchased over the years have invariably lasted about 12 months, so I bought a cheapie the other day.

I reckon that if I have to replace it often, at least I won't be shelling out much of the hard stuff.

Anyway, it works, although the image quality is poor.

It does the job well enough if I need recorded evidence of road rage effected bogans.    

Loaner Truck

I'm a member of a select group - one of those drivers unfortunate enough to have bought (new) an LW Ford Focus equipped with a Powershift transmission.

In almost every respect, it's great little car. The transmission, however, lets it down big time.

We've been luckier than most, as ours hasn't ever left us stranded roadside, as has been the case with many owners, but the juddering and surging exhibited by the transmission when it gets hot, is beyond a joke.

Anyway, Ford has been taken to court by the ACCC, and this seems to have concentrated their corporate mind somewhat.

This week, it went into the workshop for two days to have the tranny pulled, and a complete new (ungraded) clutch fitted. This is the second time this has been done. First time, there was a slight improvement, but it wasn't cured.

Since picking the thing up yesterday, driving it is a completely new (and more pleasant) experience. I dare to hope that Ford have finally got the problem sorted.

None of this has cost us any money, but it's not ideal when you spend big dollars on a new car which doesn't perform as advertised.

All of this is not, as it happens, the point of this post. The pic might give it away, but I wanted to give you a brief road test, gentle reader, of the loaner car Ford gave us for the two days we were without the Focus.

 The loaner car turned out to be a loaner truck, a 4 X 4 Ford Ranger.

It was a large beast, cumbersome to park because of the length of the tray, but was very easy to drive. Uncannily, it actually felt a little bit like the Focus because of the standard Ford cockpit setup, including Sync, cruise control, and Ford HVAC.

Once cruising along it was quite refined, although the ride with nothing in the tray was pogo like. It is well equipped, well put together, and you can clean it out with a hose if you must.

My only major gripe was the fuel filler. It's relatively inaccessible under the side of the tray, and the locking cap refuses to give up the key unless it's locked.

Think about that. It means that when you refill it with diesel, you have to find somewhere to put the cap with the key in it (and all other keys you may be using as well). It's bloody fiddly, and would drive me slowly nuts if I owned it.

This style of vehicle is very popular, and the scourge of supermarket car parks because of their length.

In their natural habitat (building site, farm gate or when towing) they're very practical, but I'm glad I don't need one.

Interior Tarting

My MX5 has a pretty presentable exterior appearance for a seventeen-year-old vehicle.

The interior was not so schmick.

Outside is now OK.

When I bought the thing, the interior was clean, but exuded a patina consistent with its age and use patterns. That’s a fancy way of saying that it was tatty.

Problems were worn leather (gear lever knob and steering wheel), discolored console cover (at the base of the gear lever) and grubby seats and seat covers.

The grubbiness was easily fixed, but the worn leather and discolored covers were a little more challenging.

Gumtree is your friend, and it didn’t take long to find some suppliers. Unfortunately, gear lever knobs (new old stock) whilst available, are expensive. Buying a replacement gear lever knob (for example) at $300 is my definition of over capitalization.  

Second hand steering wheels were also available, but the airbags are a problem. I couldn’t find anyone prepared to remove the current airbag and install in the replacement wheel. It was not a job that I was prepared to attempt.

This meant a different remedy. First, I bought a lace-on cover, but I’m not much at sewing, so the end result was not wonderful. I then bought a cheap slip-on cover with red stitching, and this, in my opinion, looks OK.

Red theme continues

I replaced the gear lever knob with an off-the-shelf accessory item, and whilst it looked OK, it was larger and heavier than the original. We have an old-fashioned shoe repairer in town, and I decided to give them a crack at recovering it.

Before - worn gear lever knob.

After - recovered by bootmaker.

They did so, using red stitching, and charged me $50. This did the trick in terms of both appearance and shift characteristics. The red stitching theme continues. 

Faux carbon and red inserts - note refurbished knob.

Gumtree was also good for supplying panels. The audio surround and the cover for the gear lever mount were available at reasonable cost ($25 for both) and had the advantage of faux carbon finishing, which lifted the all-black appearance somewhat.

I know, gentle reader, it’s not original, as these bits came with the MX5 SE, but what the heck.

In keeping with the red theme, and matching the red hardtop, I bought some red beading and installed it in various positions on the dashboard and door cards. I reckon it looks OK.   

Whilst no longer original, the interior is a more pleasant place to be, and in keeping with the Testarossa theme. 

(Click on pics to enlarge them).